Turkmenistan’s despot finds a worthy successor: his son
A horse-obsessed personality cult becomes a dynasty
IT IS TRUE that he is two years past his country’s official retirement age. But at 64 Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Turkmenistan’s president, is still a spring chicken by the standards of his contemporaries. Islam Karimov ruled Uzbekistan until his death at 78 in 2016. Nursultan Nazarbayev, the former president of Kazakhstan, was the same age before he made way, in 2019, for a younger leader. Vladimir Putin, Russia’s 69-year-old president, shows no sign of slowing down.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Cut-rate khanate”
From the February 19th 2022 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Asia
Taiwan’s political drama is paralysing its government
Domestic dysfunction plays right into China’s hands
An angry culture war surrounds Australia Day
Conservatives claim that wokeness is destroying the national holiday
The fate of a ranting driver raises doubts about the “new” Uzbekistan
It seems free speech is not so guaranteed after all
Indian politicians are becoming obsessed with doling out cash
Handouts are transforming the role of the state—perhaps for the worse
How to end the nightmare of Asia’s choked roads
The middle classes love cars but hate traffic
Can Donald Trump maintain Joe Biden’s network of Asian alliances?
Discipline and creativity will help, but so will China’s actions